Labour calls for pause on cuts that could see Bristol care home close
Redfield Lodge is the last residential home for adults owned by Bristol City Council
Labour will call for a pause on planned cuts to social care services in Bristol that could see a care home close down.
Redfield Lodge is home to dozens of elderly people with dementia.
It is the last remaining residential home for adults owned by Bristol City Council.
Around £1.5 million could be cut from the adult social care budget over the next two years.
The council is consulting the public on changes to several services, including the care home in Redfield and the meals on wheels service.
Other suggested changes include outsourcing services.
What Labour's motion says
The opposition party will make the call at a full council meeting on Tuesday 10th November.
The motion has been tabled by Labour councillor Katja Hornchen.
Labour said fundamental reform of adult social care is on the horizon, given the prime minister's recent pledge to set up a National Care Service.
Labour's motion said: "While outsourced services could potentially result in lower cost for the Council, these savings will be materialised through the private sector offering worse pay, conditions, and pensions for its workers than Bristol City Council.
"At a time where fundamental reform of adult social care is on the horizon, it would be shortsighted to push ahead with the privatisation or termination of the council's adult social care services."
Services that could change
Redfield Lodge has 40 bedrooms but needs £150,000 of investment over the next five years to fix problems with the building, such as fire doors.
The cost of running the care home is much higher than if the council paid a private company to do so.
The trade union Unison has previously warned that outsourcing would lead to a poorer service for the elderly people being cared for.
The Community Meals service could also be closed.
It feeds hundreds of elderly and disabled people in their homes, but costs the council £300,000 a year to run.
Other affected services include day centres and a reablement centre.
No decisions have been made yet.
Councillors are expected to decide the future of these council-run care services next March.
Labour's record and national reform
Labour ran Bristol City Council from 2016 to 2024, and several in-house care services were closed during that time.
The North Bristol Rehabilitation Centre closed in 2017, the South Bristol Rehab Centre closed in 2022, and the East Bristol Intermediate Care Centre closed in 2023.
Nationally, the Labour government has been increasing funding for adult social care, with reforms pledged.
In 2028-29, an extra £4.6 billion will be available for social care compared with last year.
However, some of this money comes from council tax rises that are already pencilled in.
Prime minister Andy Burnham has promised to speed up reforms to social care, with a National Care Service potentially providing free personal care.
The details remain unclear, and it would only be introduced after the next general election.
In the meantime, councils across the country are facing much higher costs for providing social care.
In Bristol, around half the council's day-to-day budget is spent on caring for around 6,000 elderly and disabled people.
Most of this is through private companies rather than in-house services.
Since austerity, councils across the country have been closing in-house services and relying on the private and third sectors instead.
Council bosses have said Bristol is an outlier for still running some services itself.
Council response
Green councillor Lorraine Francis, chair of the adult social care committee, previously said: "Adult Social Care services support some of the most vulnerable people in our city, and we know how important these services are to the people who use them, their families and carers.
"This review is about making sure Adult Social Care services are fit for the future, financially sustainable and able to support people to live as independently as possible. No decisions have been made, and the public consultation will be an important opportunity for people to help shape what happens next."
The council's public consultation runs until 17th November.